For six seasons, Game of Thrones has delivered some of the most engaging storytelling anywhere on TV. Based on the first trailer for season seven, it seems war has finally come.
Enemies To The North, South, East, And West
The first part of the trailer makes it clear just how bad things are going to be for the last two Lannisters in King's Landing. Despite ascending to the Iron Throne at the end of last season, Cersei finds she has no allies beyond the Seven Kingdoms' capital. As she states in the trailer, there are "enemies to the east, enemies to the west, enemies to the south, and enemies to the north." But she makes it very clear that nothing will stop her now that she sits upon the throne.
The trailer then jumps to the Mother of Dragons, who is finally landing in Westeros with her massive fleet and army. It also shows her arriving at the Targaryen home in Westeros, Dragonstone. From her obsidian throne, she will begin her march against the Lannisters and anyone else that may oppose her claim to the throne. It also offers glimpses of her Unsullied charging into battle for the Breaker of Chains.
From Dragonstone, it jumps to the Starks in their reclaimed home of Winterfell. The Starks look like they are primed to make a comeback after six seasons of peril and suffering for the honorable house. Based on what was shown, they also look like the best hope for what is coming to consume Westeros. Well, they can be, as long as Littlefinger's manipulation doesn't ruin more plans.
'The Great War Is Here'
While the trailer does tease the stories and personal conflicts that permeate the series, it offers plenty of action as well. There is a lot of action sprinkled throughout the trailer that promises plenty of army-on-army conflict.
The show proved it can deliver with last year's standout episode, "The Battle of the Bastards," that saw Jon Snow and his coalition fight to reclaim Winterfell from the sadistic Ramsay Bolton and his forces. Based on the trailer, that may have been a small taste of what's to come.
But it's no surprise that the voice of reason in the trailer was Ser Davos Seaworth. He says that unless everyone puts aside their differences to face the coming storm, they will all die and "it doesn't matter whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne." Davos has been one of the few moral compass characters for the show in the last few years, so it's good to know that it won't change anytime soon.
The storm he is talking about is the Night's King and his White Walkers moving south with winter. While other promotional materials have teased the White Walkers physically, this one played up more of the looming threat they represent. It will be interesting to see how these monsters are handled with only two seasons left. But between Jon Snow saying "The Great War is here" and Daenerys leading her forces atop one of her dragons, season seven is looking like the biggest season yet.
